(TibetanReview.net, Mar22, 2018) – The Tibetan Parliament in Exile on Mar 21 approved by majority vote a new education minister of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). Ms Pema Yangchen, a doctorate in Education from the USA, won 26 votes out of a total of 44 MP attending the ongoing 16th exile parliament.

Ms Pema Yangchen, 48, received her school and college educations in Bhutan and India and completed her doctoral degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 2009.

She has around 20 years of experience as school and college teacher and administrator in India and USA, including as the vice-principal of the Dalai Lama institute for Higher Studies in Bengaluru in Karnataka state. She was self-employed and living in Canada at the time of her appointment.

She takes the places of Mr Ngodup Tsering following the latter’s appointment as the CTA’s representative at the Office of Tibet, Washington, DC, in Dec 2017 in an acrimonious turn of events.

The CTA still does not have a fulltime Information and International Relations minister and it was not clear whether an appointment will be made during the current parliament session which will continue till Mar 24.